Day 221: Is 54:1 - 59:20

You know, whenever I think of the Old Testament, I usually think about the Law and of the strict rules and regulations. But we can see, especially in chapter 56, the truth that what is going on on the outside isn't nearly as important as where your heart is. We see in this chapter that God is willing to take people who have made horrible mistakes and people of the "wrong" ethnic backgrounds just the same as He will take people who were born into the right family and followed all of the rules. There are so many people out there who want to change people before they let them come to church. The truth of the matter is that God is way too busy and way too deep to waste His time caring about who a person's parents are or how they wear their hair. As long as we are faithfully serving God and being obedient to His Word, we don't have to meet all of the credentials that religion would "require" us to meet. All we have to do is stay faithful to Him and He will stay faithful to us.

- Father, help me to not pass judgment on others simply because I think they don't fit the mold of what I think a Christian should be. Help me to love and accept people the way You do and base my decisions on who they are rather than what my personal opinions are. You have called us to reach others for You and not so we can conform them into something that we are more comfortable with. -